Dutch court banned cheap service last year because drivers lack professional licenses

AMSTERDAM—Uber Technologies Inc. on Wednesday said it is closing down its Uberpop low-cost car-hailing service in the Netherlands, throwing in the towel after a lengthy battle with local authorities.

The difficulty with regulators centered on the service’s use of drivers who don’t possess professional licenses. The move to shutter UberPop takes effect on Friday and offers a rare acknowledgment that the company’s approach to winning regulatory approval here may have been too aggressive, eventually backfiring.